5,000 join call for north of England to join Scotland

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition calling for the north of England to ‘secede from the UK and join Scotland’.

A total of 5,396 people have signed a petition on Change.org in support of the north of England joining Scotland and ‘regaining control over its own destiny’.

Despite being created a year ago, during the throes of the Scottish independence campaign, the petition attracted a number of signatures following the Conservative Party’s win in last week’s general election.

The petition states: “The deliberations in Westminster are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the north of England.

“The northern cities feel far greater affinity with their Scottish counterparts such as Glasgow and Edinburgh than with the ideologies of the London-centric south.

“The needs and challenges of the north cannot be understood by the endless parade of old Etonians lining the front benches of the House of Commons.

“We, the people of the north, demand that in the event that Scotland becomes independent, the border between England and the New Scotland be drawn along a line that runs between the River Dee and the mouth of The Humber.”

The border between a ‘new Scotland’ and England would see everywhere north of Sheffield joining the newly-created country.

One supporter added: “I have more in common with the Scots, than the Etonian-led Southerners who do not care what happens in the North.”

Another pointed out that the petition could bring up the topic of increased Northern representation.

Despite being closed, the petition is still gathering signatures since last Thursday’s vote, partly thanks to the #TakeUsWithYouScotland hashtag on Twitter.